I’m travelling to the uk this summer and am kind of confused about the power supply there. If I want to recharge my ipod mini and shuffle with my ac adapter will I need a plug adapter only to do that or will I need both a plug adapter and a voltage converter? 
is it like a shaver plug like this?
It looks like this:
my friend has one of those for the camera he bought, i think them 2 pins plug into that plug i have in the pic.
Trev
my friend has one of those for the camera he bought, i think them 2 pins plug into that plug i have in the pic.
Trev
Standard UK Mains electricity is approx 230-250 volts at 50hz. Supplied via a 3 pin socket. The sockets generally (unless V old) require an earth pin to be used as that releases the shutter protecting the live and nuetral terminals.
There are SOME 110v unearthed sockets in Uk installations, these are almost always in bathrooms and are designed for shavers ( trevs pic is of an adapter to make a multi voltage shaver fit a 230v standard socket.).
To be sure you can charge your electronic gizmos you will need both voltage AND pin adapter , you can probadly buy an all in one unit.
Remeber 230v will happily fry a 110v applience, only use multi voltage or 230-250v appliences in UK Sockets with out a voltage transformer.
For much of Mainland europe you will find that while the voltage is still 230v the sockets are only two pin, or are 3 pin but will work with 2 pin pulgs.
Sarah
Erin-
The device you show will accept the 240VAC 50Hz mains in the UK if it has the third pin that Sarah describes. What does that device look like end on? Is there a permanent or removeable pin that can be used for the receptacles which require a ground pin?
Some clever chap or bird could probably show you how to cheat and open the shutter with a tooth pick or some other insulating device. Your charger certainly doesn’t need to be earthed either for safety or for operation as it is double insulated.
Thanks for the info. I don’t actually have the ac adapter in the picture Greg, it is still winging its way to be after a recent shopping sprew on the 'bay.
I was planning to get the necessary plug adapter from the 'bay as well and was wondering whether I should add a voltage transformer to my shopping list.
It seems like some devices work all right with just a plug adapter and others are at risk of being fried by the higher UK voltage and therefore would require both a plug adapter and a voltage transformer. But I’m still not sure how I can tell which from which.
If it says 240VAC 50Hz input you’re OK. With switching supplies, like those used for chargers, almost anything is OK as input. Before you buy, just ask…and keep on asking until you’re happy. The pictures with the data on them (like you posted) help alot.
For what it’s worth, here’s the Wiki article on AC plugs and sockets.
Some nice maps and pics of various plugs in there.
You picture clearly shows the input voltage levels at which it will work. The range covers both the US and the UK voltages. So all you need is a pin converter, such that you can physically plug the thing in. You do not need a special voltage step down device.